Synopsis: After her recent release from a deep psychiatric care, a Libertine-styled countess goes back to ver evil ways, trainer her sights on a pretty girl with the intention to destroy her after fully corrupting her body and soul.

Considered by Franco connoisseurs as a companion piece to the human hunting tale Countess Perverse, How to Seduce a Virgin (aka Plaisir à trois) is one of eleven films Jess Franco directed (under the nom de plume Clifford Brown) in 1974.

Using the same cast as Countess, this slick, luridly coloured film has a heavy emphasis on softcore behaviour, yet the story does feature a cruelly ironic finale. With horror implied through evil scheming, manipulation, and humiliating activities, former porn actress Alice Arno plays Martine Bressac, an imbalanced libertine freshly released from the booby hatch after Bobbitizing a lover. Back home with her loudly clothed husband Charles (in one scene, Robert Woods is decked out in a purple leisure suit and yellow dress shirt), Martine trolls the beach in search of new a waif deserving a place in her “museum” – a basement filled with the preserved cadavers of victims frozen in moments of sheer erotic terror!

The very touchy-feely couple soon plot to lure the 21 year old daughter of a diplomat, Cecile (model / porn thespian Tania Busselier), into a routine of debauchery before she too is preserved as one of Martine’s objects d’art erotiques.

Assuredly directed and sporting elaborate masturbation montages steeped in Sadean voyeuristic pleasure (not to mention beaver fur that would make Tinto Brass explode with delight), Seduce is also grounded by an unusually literate script, clean plotting, and a trippy lounge score that perfectly matches the marble mirror panels and pastel shades which decorate the couple’s amazing country mansion.

With garters and a blouse kept in place with garden twine, Franco’s future muse Lina Romay plays the Libertines’ dopey sex slave, communicating through loopy tonal eruptions; and smallish Alfred Baillou is the couple’s gardener who’s emotionally blunted by the memory of a suicidal bishop and his ‘cracked egg’ landing.

Making their debut on Blu on this side of the pond are the Dutch marine classic Admiral / Michiel de Ruyter (2015) from XLrator, and Richard Burton’s U.S. debut with Olivia de Havilland in My Cousin Rachel (1952) via Twilight Time.

A lengthy podcast with Peter Roffman, editor / author of Dear Guelda: The Death and Life of Pioneering Canadian Filmmaker Julian Roffman, director of the CanCon 3D classic The Mask (1961), and so much more.

Cited as a strong influence on Universal’s expressionistic horror films of the 1930s, The Man Who Laughs was the first major film version of Victor Hugo’s 1869 novel that told the truly horrible tale of a disfigured child adopted by a small-time circus owner, and years later, becomes a celebrity of sorts when his disfigurement enthralls locals…

Woody Allen’s last film starring Mia Farrow is one of his best and darkest comedies, hyper-fixating on the (largely) negative effects of infidelity – the film earned Oscar nominations for writing and supporting actress (Judy Davis) – but its most powerful moments…

Written during his busiest period (1968-1970), Quincy Jones’ score for John and Mary was quite sparse, leaving obligatory space for the film’s myriad dialogue exchanges and source music, but the score is memorable for being atypical of the material Jones was writing at the time: action comedies (The Italian Job, The Hell with Heroes), comedies (Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice,Cactus Flower), and the funky style of They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!

For some soundtrack fans, it was a bit of surprise to learn the composer of pioneering synth scores had begun his career with large orchestral scores for John Boorman’s Excalibur (1981) and Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal (1982)…

The first film in the enduring franchise gave John Powell the perfect opportunity to write what remains both his definitive action sound, and the definitive action score of that decade, blending large orchestral sounds with layers upon layers of electronics…

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